Conventionally, in any IT enabled environment, business users use workstations as the single interface point to access all enterprise IT systems to perform their day to day work. The business users perform IT tasks which straddle across multiple IT systems, in different permutations and combinations to complete their work. Often, as part of management needs of businesses, these users need to report their work performance measures to multiple stakeholders. But, even though the work is performed using IT systems, every business user has their own unique style or way of performing their work and they also adopt different work processes. As a result, it is difficult to standardize work processes across business users and there is no single way of managing such work processes. Similarly, in case of large organizations, many associates play similar roles and perform similar activities (for e.g. developer, manager, tester, designers and the like). But due to variability and lack of standardized work processes, organizations find it difficult to manage the work done by its associates. This may affect the ability of an organization to meet its prior commitments.
Additionally, technological advancements have led the way for business processes to become more and more complex, planning and managing all the activities and resources involved in getting a job done become more challenging. Accordingly, tracking the flow of work through an enterprise requires time and diverse skills and knowledge.
Usually in an enterprise, work occurs in two distinct places viz., desktop (where an individual manipulates artifacts in different information systems) and outside desktop (when an individual attends meetings, presentations, discussions and the like). In both the cases, there is no specific reason as to why an individual chooses to use the desktop in a particular fashion (sequence of events) and/or the nature of work carried out. When the managers and/or supervisors have to draw inferences based on the available data of an individual's work and progress, the data provided by individuals and/or peer members and the data from information systems may be inaccurate and inefficient. Decision making in such situation is analogous to taking calculated risks. To avoid such consequence, managers and/or supervisors need help in making decisions.
Further, managers and/or supervisors need quality data for making plans. In this respect, managers and/or supervisors monitor the progress of delegated work and intervene whenever necessary. Furthermore, managers and/or supervisors need data to take corrective actions when progress of work is not as desired. The managers and/or supervisors may also need early indicators and warnings against any potential failures/slippages. Moreover, they also need data that can help them to take calculated risks. Along with this, the individuals may also need help in reporting the progress of work. In this respect, the individuals may need privacy with respect to the work they are doing. Further, they also need to know the different pieces of work they have accepted and its progress as well as clarity on their work specifications. Subsequently, they may also need data to validate or support their claims on progress, completion and quality of work that is assigned to them.
Currently, the systems for work measurement are approximate, time-consuming and subjective as there are no standard methodologies available for measuring work done in IT systems. As a result, the reported metrics tend to be inconsistent, imprecise and hard to collate.
Hence, there is a need for a system that limits the aforementioned drawbacks and provides a system and method to non-intrusively measure work done in IT systems.